THE Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) said it extended for a year its housing loan condonation program to help members stave off foreclosure on their properties.
In a statement sent to reporters Friday, the state-run pension fund said it extended until the end of December 2019 its program waiving unpaid penalties and surcharges to housing buyers and borrowers with past due accounts who are willing to settle their obligations in full.
The extension of the deadline will “give prospective applicants more time to pay off their housing accounts.”
GSIS started waiving penalties for housing account obligations in October, with the initial cutoff period ending on December 31, 2018.
“We fully understand the predicament of our housing buyers and borrowers who are struggling to keep their homes, so we heeded their appeal,” GSIS President and General Manager Jesus Clint O. Aranas was quoted as saying in the statement. “The program’s cutoff date was moved to December 2019 to help them finally own their house”
The program is open to members, active or inactive, as well as non-members with deeds of conditional sale or real estate loan accounts that are in arrears or default.
Accounts that have been cancelled but not yet uploaded as investment property, and those which have been foreclosed but with titles yet to be consolidated in the name of GSIS, may still avail of the condonation.
Likewise, buyers of rights and legal heirs of deceased borrowers may apply for the condonation program.
Mr. Aranas said in October a majority of GSIS housing borrowers will benefit from the condonation program as almost 55% of its 29,000 housing accounts are for cancellation, foreclosure or have incurred several months of arrears.
Applicants who wish to avail of the program should request an appointment and condonation statement of account from the nearest GSIS office.
Mr. Aranas encouraged buyers or borrowers to apply for condonation as early possible to avoid incurring further penalties of at least one percent per month. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

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